Made in the USA Matters connects American consumers with brands and products made in the USA. We aim to support domestic manufacturing and help other Americans do the same. Our goal is to do our part to boost the United States economy, create and sustain jobs for Americans, and champion ethical and sustainable production practices.
The Made in the USA Matters Brand and Product Directory is structured to resemble a shopping site, making it easy for readers to find products made in the USA. It features curated product lists for categories like clothing, housewares, appliances, and more.
In addition to our Brand and Product Directory, other sections include:
- Brand and Product Spotlights, highlighting specific brands and American-made items.
- Purely Patriotic showcases patriotic-themed products made in the USA
- Red, White, and You (our newest section) offers compelling reasons to buy American-made goods and informative articles related to domestic manufacturing.
In short, we help shoppers make meaningful purchasing decisions while supporting American craftsmanship and innovation.
Meet the Editor!
Hi! I’m Michelle and I’m the owner and editor of Made in the USA Matters. Nice to meet you!
I do almost everything around here, so if you need to see the manager, I’m your gal. 🙂
My husband, Don, is working on a few new ideas I have for the website and helps me out with categories I’m not as versed in.
We’ve nicknamed our son “tech support.” He’s 12, so we’ve officially reached the stage where we hand him our devices when we can’t get something to work.
To those of you who leave a comment when a brand has moved to manufacture overseas, when you find a broken link, or to answer questions other readers leave in the comments, you are so valuable. There are hundreds of pages here and thousands of brands. It’s a labor of love for me, and I appreciate you taking the time to assist. Thank you!
How it Started: An American-Made List Too Big for My Brain
My father would pick me up for the weekend in a pickup truck with bumper stickers that read “Buy American.” I never asked about them. Even at a young age, I somehow knew it was important. The American-made Chevrolet pickup truck is long gone, but the bumper stickers still stick with me today.
Photo Credit: MrJacon000
My dad put those stickers on the Chevrolet truck he drove back and forth to the transmission plant where he was employed as a millwright. We’re lucky here in Toledo, Ohio. The plant has gone through a handful of name changes since I was a little girl, but it’s still here.
But let’s fast forward.
My pretty pink iron fell to the concrete basement floor. I knew it before I even looked at it. It seems everything is plastic these days. It was done for. It didn’t look too bad when I picked it up; a crack and a small piece of plastic broke off. But when I tried to get it to turn back on, I got nothing.
It was going to be hard enough to find a pink iron again. Let alone a pink iron made in the USA. Off to Google.
After at least an hour of searching, I found the information I was looking for but didn’t want to read. There weren’t any American-made irons anymore. The best I could do was a Rowenta made by our German allies, and I couldn’t wait for delivery. I needed the iron now. Not to mention, that’s a pretty pricey iron for a lady on a budget with a concrete laundry room floor. I tried anyway.
My sweet husband door-dropped me at multiple stores so I could get in and out quickly, and we wouldn’t have to get our son in and out of his car seat. I couldn’t find a Rowenta anywhere. I checked iron after iron and iron after iron was made in China. I didn’t have a choice and bought an iron made in China. Ugh.
After that, it became my mission to be more prepared before I had to make a purchase. I set out to know as much as I could off-hand without thinking about it. The list was getting too big to keep in my head.
Around the same time, my friends and I regularly discussed politics, the trade deficit, manufacturing in China, and several other things related to the United States economy and our supply chain weaknesses.
That’s when it hit me. I needed to organize my list of brands and products made in the USA in a way that could easily be shared. I abandoned my crafts, let my garden grow weeds, and reorganized my desk. Then I got to work.
Made in the USA Matters started as a list in my head, and now, it’s an ever-growing directory of American-made brands and products for all American consumers who strive to buy products made in the USA. I hope it’s a helpful resource for you and your family and supports you greatly in your own commitment to buy American.
God Bless America!
Michelle
